A New Beginning
by Snapdragon83
Summary: When Kurt overhears a conversation he was never meant to, Jane clears up a few misconceptions for him. (Written for a prompt on Tumblr.)


I do not own Blindspot or its characters.

* * *

Jane's boyfriend was here again.

Kurt clenched his jaw as he glanced out his office window and saw the guy standing in the bullpen talking to Reade. It seemed like every time he turned around Oliver Kind was popping up to escort Jane to dinner or a Broadway show or a gala of some sort. Or in today's case, apparently just to bring her lunch.

He sucked in a breath as Jane entered the room, her eyes lighting up as she spotted Oliver and gave him a kiss on the cheek before taking the proffered lunch bag, talking animatedly all the while. She looked heartstoppingly beautiful, and he felt the familiar green monster of jealousy rear its ugly head as he tried to remember how long it had been since she had looked that way at him.

It bothered him even more that she would likely never look at him that way again.

Still, as much as it was agony for him to see the woman he'd belatedly realized he still loved with another man, he didn't know anyone who deserved happiness more than Jane, and despite the pain it caused him to realize he had blown his chance with her, he was genuinely happy _for_ her.

Or at least he had been, until he overheard her talking to Oliver in the locker room last Friday.

"Just let me grab my coat, and I'll be ready to head out," Jane said cheerfully, and Kurt started to pop his head around the lockers and wish her a nice weekend when . . .

"There's no rush, Jane," said a man's voice, and Kurt realized just in the nick of time that she hadn't been talking to one of their teammates and drew back out of sight. "It's just an informal family gathering. I promise, Tommy is going to love you."

"I hope so," Jane answered with a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Your brother sounds like quite a character."

"He is." Oliver chuckled slightly. "Our parents were always too busy to pay much attention to us, so it kind of became the two of us against the world, you know? We've always had one another's backs."

"That must be nice," Jane remarked wistfully.

Oliver caught the pensive tone in her voice. "I'm guessing there was no one like that for you?"

Jane didn't reply for so long Kurt thought she wasn't going to respond. "No," she said finally. "I've never had anyone who didn't let me down."

The words had been like a fist straight to the gut, and the week that had passed since hadn't lessened their emotional impact one iota. _I've never had anyone who didn't let me down._ He'd known they'd failed her, of course, still felt sick to his stomach every time he thought of the bruises she'd been sporting when she returned, when he imagined what she must have endured at Keaton's hands, but to hear her come right out and say it . . .

He didn't think he would ever forgive himself.

He'd walked out into the bullpen after she and everyone else had gone home and taken a seat at the desk she'd only recently reclaimed. The desk where they'd sat side by side mere months earlier as she declared, _None of you have ever let me down._

Sleep had been a long time coming that night when he did finally go home, and every night since. Those words had sounded a death knell to the hope he'd only just begun to acknowledge to himself that they would find their way back together. He'd been like a bear with a thorn stuck in his paw ever since, and agents had been giving him a wide berth all week.

His behavior didn't faze Jane though. In fact, the grumpier he got, the more she seemed to find excuses to be around him. She'd even taken to eating her lunch in his office with him, though he guessed she wouldn't be doing that today.

He supposed he needed to get used to eating alone anyway. To _being_ alone. Since the one woman in the world he could envision a future with would soon be off the market. If Jane was meeting Oliver's family, it was only a matter of time until he proposed.

The sound of the door swinging open startled him from his thoughts.

"Hey," Jane greeted as she took a seat at the table, sighing inwardly as she caught sight of Kurt's grim expression. What on earth was going on with him this week? She wished he'd confide in her the way he used to.

She wished a lot of things would get back to the way they used to be.

"Hi," Kurt said gruffly, but instead of picking up a stack of folders and joining her as he had done on the previous days, he returned his attention to them at his desk.

Jane set down her sandwich, her appetite gone. She stood up and walked over to Kurt, feeling her temper rise when he studiously ignored her. She circled the desk and perched on the edge, right on top of the papers he was perusing. "All right. I've had enough of this. What the hell is going on with you this week?"

"Nothing," Kurt snapped. "I'm fine. I just . . ." _I have a lot of work to do,_ he started to say, but when he opened his mouth, "I overheard what you said to Oliver in the locker room last Friday. About all of us letting you down. I'm . . . I'm glad you've finally found a guy who won't. I hope the two of you will be very happy together."

To his utter shock, Jane chuckled, the outrage on his face only making her laugh harder, and it was several minutes before she got herself under control enough to gasp out, " _That's_ what's been bothering you this week?"

Kurt nodded stiffly, failing to see the humor in the situation. "I know we—I know _I_ let you down, Jane, and I'm sorry. You deserved better from us. From me." Especially from him. He had promised that she could tell him anything, and he had turned his back on her the first time she tried to do so. The time she had needed him most.

"I appreciate that, Kurt," Jane said, reigning in her sudden good humor with an effort. He was hers now, whether he knew it or not. "But _you_ didn't just let _me_ down, Kurt. We let one another down. And what I said . . . I wasn't just referring to you. To the team. Oscar and Roman and Shepherd . . . they all claimed to love me—to love _Remi—_ and don't get me wrong, I believe they did, or Oscar and Roman, at least, but still . . . they let her do _this_ to herself." She gestured down her body.

"But you know what," Jane continued after a moment, "I'm glad they did. And do you know why?"

Kurt gave his head a tiny shake, uncertain, not taking his eyes off hers.

"Because I met you," Jane told him. "Because I got a second chance to start from scratch, an opportunity most people can only dream of, and I had you to teach me what it means to fight the _right_ way. The person I am today . . . I owe a great deal of that to you, Kurt. As awful and terrifying as what I went through was, from the very first day we worked together, I knew you believed in me, and _you_ had _my_ back. And that made all the difference in the world.

"And as for Oliver," she continued, "we went on a couple of dates, but we quickly agreed that we were better off as just friends. His mother's been trying to set him up with society women for years, which he is understandably unhappy about, and he's been using me to get her off his back. We agreed to continue the arrangement until one of us starts seeing someone else. And if I find that person first, then he can play the brokenhearted jilted lover to the hilt." An act she had a feeling he was going to have to assume sooner than she'd anticipated.

She waited, hoping Kurt would respond, would ask her . . . But he remained stubbornly silent. "Okay, then," she said, sliding off his desk and starting toward the door. "I'll let you get back to work."

"Jane," Kurt said as she placed her hand on the door handle, and the hopefulness on her face bolstered his confidence to utter his next words. "Would you like to take in a movie with me . . . tonight?"


End file.
